Drawer assembly and refrigerator having the same

ABSTRACT

A drawer assembly and a refrigerator having the same are provided. The drawer assembly comprises: a first drawer part having an outcut which is formed in a top of the first drawer part at a transversal rear side of the first drawer part and penetrated through the first drawer part in a longitudinal direction; and a second drawer part snap-fitted within the outcut of the first drawer part so as to couple the second drawer part to the first drawer part, and the top of the first drawer part being flush with that of the second drawer part.

FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to a refrigeration apparatus,more particularly, to a drawer assembly and a refrigerator having thesame.

BACKGROUND

The freezing drawer of the conventional refrigerator is integrative anddisposed onto a door-support with synchronizing gears and synchronizingbars. The capacity of the freezing drawer of the refrigerator becomeslarger and larger in order to store more foods, thus causing pulling outand pushing in of the freezing drawer inconvenient. In addition, thecapacity of the freezing drawer is limited because the stroke of thegear is limited by the depth of refrigerator cabinet, such that thespace utilization rate of the refrigerator is low.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure seeks to solve at least one of the problemsexisting in the prior art to at least some extent.

Accordingly, an object according to a first aspect of embodiments of thepresent disclosure is to provide a drawer assembly having high spaceutilization rate and being easy to assemble and disassemble.

The drawer assembly according to embodiments of the present disclosurecomprises: a first drawer part having an outcut which is formed in a topof the first drawer part at a transversal rear side of the first drawerpart in a transversal direction and penetrated therethrough in alongitudinal direction; and a second drawer part snap-fitted within theoutcut of the first drawer part so as to couple the second drawer partto the first drawer part, and the top of the first drawer part is flushwith that of the second drawer part.

The drawer assembly according to embodiments of the present disclosurecomprises the first drawer part and the second drawer part coupleddetachably to each other, so that the drawer assembly is easy toassemble and disassemble. Moreover, the capacity of the drawer assemblyis sufficiently enlarged and the space utilization rate thereof isimproved.

In some embodiments, a first protrusion extended backwardly in atransversal direction is disposed at an upper portion of a rear surfaceof transversal sidewall of the first drawer part, and a groove is formedin a top of the first protrusion; a first recess is formed in an upperportion of a front surface of a transversal sidewall of the seconddrawer part, and a fastening tongue extended downwardly is disposed at atop surface of the first recess; and the first protrusion is fittedwithin the first recess and the fastening tongue is snap-fitted withinthe groove such that the second drawer part is fastened to the firstdrawer part.

Alternatively, the groove is formed as a through-hole extendedvertically, and the fastening tongue is elastic.

With the groove and the fastening tongue, the second drawer part may bepositioned vertically onto the first drawer part with high accuracy.

In some embodiments, a second protrusion extended backwardly in atransversal direction is disposed at a top of a rear surface of atransversal sidewall of the first drawer part; a plughole is formed in afront surface of a transversal sidewall of the second drawer part; andthe second protrusion is inserted into the plughole such that the seconddrawer part is fastened to the first drawer part.

With the second protrusion and the plughole, the second drawer part maybe positioned vertically on the first drawer part with high accuracy aswell.

In some embodiments, a projection extended upwardly is disposed on anupper surface of the outcut of the first drawer part, and a secondrecess recessed upwardly is formed in a lower surface of the seconddrawer part, and the projection is inserted into the second recess so asto fasten the second drawer part to the first drawer part.

Alternatively, the projection is extended upwardly along a substantiallyvertical direction from the upper surface of the outcut.

With the projections and the second recess engaged with each other atthe right and left sides of the first and second drawer, the seconddrawer part may be positioned along the left and right direction, i.e.the longitudinal direction, onto the first drawer part with highaccuracy.

In some embodiments, a first step is disposed on an outer surface of arear wall in the transversal direction of the first drawer part, asecond step is disposed on an outer surface of a rear wall in thetransversal direction of the second drawer part, and the first step issnap-fitted with the second step.

Alternatively, the first step has a substantially L-shape.

With the first step and the second step coupled to each other, thesecond drawer part may be positioned in the front and rear direction,i.e. the transversal direction (the moving direction of the drawerassembly), onto the first drawer part with higher accuracy.

In some embodiments, an insertion slot is formed in the upper surface ofthe outcut and adjacent to a rear edge of the upper surface of theoutcut; an insertion tongue is extended downwardly from a lower surfaceof the second drawer part, and the insertion tongue is inserted into theinsertion slot so as to fasten the second drawer part to the firstdrawer part.

Alternatively, the insertion tongue is extended downwardly in asubstantially vertical direction from the lower surface of the seconddrawer part.

Alternatively, the upper surface of the outcut is formed as an arcsurface; the lower surface of the second drawer part is formed as an arcsurface adapted to the upper surface of the outcut.

The engagement of the insertion slot and insertion results a firmsnap-fit between the first drawer part and second drawer part, thusavoiding distortion of the drawer assembly.

The drawer assembly according to embodiments of the present disclosureis divided into the first drawer part and the second drawer partdetachably coupled to each other, when being inserted into drawercabinets with various capacity requirements, the rear wall of each ofthe first drawer part and the second drawer part may be inclined by apredetermined angle backwardly and correspondingly according to thespecific capacity requirement, therefore the capacity of the drawerassembly can satisfy requirements of the drawer cabinet. Meanwhile, whenthe drawer assembly is needed to be taken out of the drawer cabinet, thesecond drawer part may be firstly detached from the first drawer part,and then the first drawer part is pulled out. Therefore, the capacity ofthe drawer assembly is relatively enlarged and the space utilizationrate thereof is improved, though the drawer assembly is needed to betaken out in two steps.

Another object according to a second aspect of embodiments of thepresent disclosure is to provide a refrigerator.

The refrigerator according to embodiments of the present disclosurecomprises a refrigerating chamber and a freezing chamber, in which thefreezing chamber comprises: a freezing cabinet; a freezing doorconfigured to open and close the freezing cabinet and connected to thefreezing cabinet via a supporting and moving assembly; and a drawerassembly according to the first aspect of the present disclosuredetachably supported on the supporting and moving assembly and moved inthe freezing cabinet along the transversal direction.

The supporting and moving assembly comprises a moving member including aslide rail extending transversally and a gear movable on the slide rail,a toothed bar being disposed on the slide rail and meshed with the gear,the gear having a synchronizing bar coaxial with the gear; and adoor-support member, an end of which being fixed to the freezing door,and the first drawer part being mounted onto the door-support member,and the other end of which being hinged to the synchronizing bar so asto be movable transversally on the slide rail together with thesynchronizing bar or rotatable around the synchronizing bar.

With the refrigerator according to embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the drawer comprises the first drawer part detachablycoupled to the second drawer part, when the drawer assembly is insertedinto a drawer compartment with various requirements of capacity, therear wall of each of the first drawer part and the second drawer partmay be inclined by a predetermined angle backwardly and correspondinglyaccording to the specific requirement of the capacity, therefore thecapacity of the drawer assembly may satisfy the requirements of thedrawer compartment. Meanwhile, when the drawer assembly is needed to betaken out of the drawer compartment, the second drawer part may befirstly detached from the first drawer part, and then the first drawerpart is pulled out. Therefore, the capacity of the drawer assembly isrelatively enlarged, the space utilization rate thereof is improved andthe waste of space is reduced, and the taking out and cleaning of thedrawer assembly is convenient, though the drawer assembly has to betaken out by two steps.

Additional aspects and advantages of the embodiments of presentdisclosure will be given in part in the following descriptions, becomeapparent in part from the following descriptions, or be learned from thepractice of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other aspects and advantages of the disclosure will becomeapparent and more readily appreciated from the following descriptionstaken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective schematic view of the drawer assembly accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a part indicated by a circle in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 (a) is a schematic view showing engagement of the groove A of thefirst drawer part and the fastening tongue a of the second drawer partin FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 (b) is a schematic view showing engagement of the projection B ofthe first drawer part and the second recess b of the second drawer partin FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 (c) is a schematic view showing engagement of the first step C ofthe first drawer part and the second step c of the second drawer part inFIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective schematic view of the drawer assembly accordingto another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a part indicated by a circle in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 (a) is a schematic view showing engagement of the plughole a′ ofthe first drawer part and the second protrusion A′ of the second drawerpart in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 (b) is a schematic view showing engagement of the projection B ofthe first drawer part and the second recess b of the second drawer partin FIG. 4;

FIG. 6( c) is a schematic view showing engagement of the first step C ofthe first drawer part and the second step c of the second drawer part inFIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a left view of a drawer assembly according to a furtherembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a perspective schematic partial view of the drawer assembly inFIG. 7;

FIG. 9 (a) is a schematic view showing engagement of the groove A of thefirst drawer part and the fastening tongue a of the second drawer partin FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 (b) is a schematic view showing engagement of the projection B ofthe first drawer part and the second recess b of the second drawer partin FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 (c) is a schematic view showing engagement of the first step C ofthe first drawer part and the second step c of the second drawer part inFIG. 7;

FIG. 9 (d) is a schematic view showing engagement of the insertion slotD of the first drawer part and the insertion tongue d of the seconddrawer part in FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of the refrigerator according to anembodiment of the present disclosure with the freezing door beingclosed;

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of the refrigerator in FIG. 10 with thefreezing door being opened and the drawer assembly being pulled out;

FIG. 12 is a schematic view of the refrigerator according to anembodiment of the present disclosure with the freezing door beingopened, the drawer assembly being pulled out and the second drawer partbeing separated from the first drawer part;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of a part indicated by a circle in FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a schematic view of the refrigerator in FIG. 12 with thedrawer assembly being pulled out;

FIG. 15 is a schematic view of the refrigerator according to anotherembodiment of the present disclosure with the freezing door beingopened, the drawer assembly being pulled out and the second drawer partbeing separated from the first drawer part;

FIG. 16 is an enlarged view of a part indicated by a circle in FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a schematic view of the refrigerator in FIG. 15 with thedrawer assembly being pulled out;

FIG. 18 is a schematic view of the refrigerator according to a furtherembodiment of the present disclosure with the freezing door beingopened, the drawer assembly being pulled out and the second drawer partbeing separated from the first drawer part;

FIG. 19 is an enlarged view of a part indicated by a circle in FIG. 18;and

FIG. 20 is a schematic view of the refrigerator in FIG. 18 with thedrawer assembly being pulled out.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Reference will be made in detail to embodiments of the presentdisclosure. The embodiments described herein with reference to drawingsare explanatory, illustrative, and used to generally understand thepresent disclosure. The embodiments shall not be construed to limit thepresent disclosure. The same or similar elements and the elements havingsame or similar functions are denoted by like reference numeralsthroughout the descriptions.

In the description, relative terms such as “longitudinal”,“transversal”, “front”, “rear”, “right”, “left”, “lower”, “upper”,“horizontal”, “vertical”, “above”, “below”, “up”, “top”, “bottom” aswell as derivative thereof (e.g., “horizontally”, “downwardly”,“upwardly”, etc.) should be construed to refer to the orientation asthen described or as shown in the drawings under discussion. Theserelative terms are for convenience of description and do not requirethat the present disclosure be constructed or operated in a particularorientation. Terms concerning attachments, coupling and the like, suchas “connected” and “interconnected”, refer to a relationship whereinstructures are secured or attached to one another either directly orindirectly through intervening structures, as well as both movable orrigid attachments or relationships, unless expressly describedotherwise.

The drawer assembly according to embodiments of the present disclosurewill be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1-9 below.

As shown in FIGS. 1-9, a drawer assembly according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure comprises a first drawer part 11 and a seconddrawer part 12. The first drawer part has an outcut 110 which is formedin a top of the first drawer part 11 at a transversal rear side (theleft side in FIG. 2) of the first drawer part and penetratedtherethrough in a longitudinal direction (the right and left directionin FIG. 1). The second drawer part 12 is snap-fitted within the outcut110 of the first drawer part 11 so as to couple the second drawer part12 to the first drawer part 11, and the top of the first drawer part 11is flush with that of the second drawer part 12 after coupling to eachother. Alternatively, the rear wall of each of the first drawer part 11and the second drawer part 12 may be inclined by a predetermined anglebackwardly and correspondingly, in which the inclined angle of the firstdrawer part 11 is adapted to that of the second drawer part 12.Therefore, the capacity of a drawer defined by the first drawer part andthe second drawer part coupled to each other is much larger.

The drawer assembly according to embodiments of the present disclosurecomprises the first drawer part and the second drawer part coupleddetachably to each other, so that the drawer assembly is easy toassemble and disassemble. Moreover the capacity of the drawer assemblyis sufficiently enlarged and the space utilization rate thereof isimproved.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and3(a), a first protrusion 111 extended backwardly in the transversaldirection (the front and back direction in FIG. 1) is disposed at anupper portion of a rear surface of transversal sidewall of the firstdrawer part 11, and a groove A is formed in the top of the firstprotrusion 111. Accordingly, a first recess 121 is formed in an upperportion of a front surface of a transversal sidewall of the seconddrawer part 12. Specifically, the first recess 121 is depressed in afront face of the upper portion of the second drawer part 12. Afastening tongue a extended downwardly is disposed at a top surface ofthe first recess 121. The first protrusion 111 is fitted within thefirst recess 121 and the fastening tongue a is snap-fitted within thegroove A such that the second drawer part 12 is fastened to the firstdrawer part 11. For example, as shown in FIG. 3 (a), the groove A isformed as a through-hole extended vertically, and the fastening tongue ais elastic, such that, the elastic fastening tongue a may be insertedinto and then snap-fitted within the groove A through deformationresulting from being depressed by a user.

With the groove and the fastening tongue, the second drawer part may bepositioned and assembled vertically onto the first drawer part with highaccuracy.

Of course, the present disclosure is not limited to this. In order toposition the second drawer part vertically onto the first draweraccurately, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure,as shown in FIGS. 4, 5, and 6 (a), a second protrusion A′ extendedbackwardly in the transversal direction is disposed on the top of a rearsurface of the transversal sidewall of the first drawer part 11. Aplughole a′ is formed in the front surface of a transversal sidewall ofthe second drawer part 12. Specifically, the plughole a′ is depressed ina front face of the upper end of the second drawer part 12, and thesecond protrusion A′ is inserted into the plughole a′, as shown in FIG.6( a). Alternatively, the sectional area taken along the longitudinaldirection of the second protrusion A′ is reduced gradually in order toinsert into the plughole a′ easily as the second protrusion A′ extendingbackwardly.

With the second protrusion and the plughole, the second drawer part maybe positioned vertically onto the first drawer part with high accuracy.

With the embodiments, the drawer assembly is divided into the firstdrawer part 11 and the second drawer part 12 detachably coupled to eachother, when being inserted into drawer cabinets with various capacityrequirements, the rear wall of each of the first drawer part 11 and thesecond drawer part 12 may be inclined by a predetermined anglebackwardly and correspondingly according to the specific capacityrequirement, therefore the capacity of the drawer assembly can satisfythe requirements of the drawer cabinet. Meanwhile, when the drawerassembly is needed to be taken out of the drawer cabinet, the seconddrawer part 12 may be firstly detached from the first drawer part 11,and then the first drawer part 11 is pulled out. Therefore, the capacityof the drawer assembly is relatively enlarged and the space utilizationrate thereof is improved, though the drawer assembly is needed to betaken out in two steps.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown in FIGS. 1-3( b)and FIGS. 4-6( b), a projection B extended upwardly is disposed on anupper surface of the outcut 110 of the first drawer part 11,correspondingly, a second recess b recessed upwardly is formed in alower surface of the second drawer part 12, in which the projection B isinserted into the second recess b so as to fasten the second drawer part12 to the first drawer part 11. Alternatively, the projection B isextended upwardly along the substantially vertical direction from theupper surface of the outcut 110. And, the second recess b is depresseddownwardly in the substantially vertical direction in the lower surfaceof the second drawer part 12 correspondingly. It will be appreciated bythose skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited tothis. For example, a predetermined angle may be formed between thevertical direction and the axial direction of the projection B and thesecond recess b, as long as the projection B and the second recess b maybe coupled to each other so as to fit the second drawer part 12 withinthe outcut 110.

For instance, the number of each of the projection B and the secondrecess b may be more than one, the projections B are disposedrespectively on the upper surface of the left and right ends in thelongitudinal direction of the outcut 110, such that when the seconddrawer part 12 is assembled to or disassembled from the first drawerpart 11, the projections B at two sides in the longitudinal directionmay be engaged into or disengaged from the corresponding second recessesb respectively. Therefore, the assembly and disassembly between thefirst drawer part 11 and the second drawer part 12 are easily andsimply.

With the projections B and the second recess b engaged with each other,the second drawer part may be positioned along the left and rightdirection, i.e. the longitudinal direction, onto the first drawer part11 with higher accuracy.

In some other embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown in FIGS.1-3( c) and FIGS. 4-6( c), a first step C is disposed on an outersurface of a rear wall in the transversal direction of the first drawerpart 11, a second step c is disposed on an outer surface of a rear wallin the transversal direction of the second drawer part 12, in which thefirst step C is snap-fitted with the second step c. Alternatively, thefirst step C may has a substantially L-shape, because the rear wall ofthe first drawer part 11 is extended upwardly to form a L-shape with theupper surface of the outcut 110. Correspondingly, the second step c maybe formed like a curved finger to be snap-fitted with the first step C,as shown in FIG. 3( c) and FIG. 7. Of course, the shape of the firststep C and the second step c is not limited to this. For example, thefirst step C and the second step c may be respectively any steps whichcan be snap-fitted with each other.

Furthermore, the number of each of the first step C and the second stepc may be more than one, each of the first steps C and the second steps cmay be spaced apart from each other longitudinally. With the first stepC and the second step c coupled to each other, the second drawer part 12may be positioned in the front and rear direction, i.e. the transversaldirection (the moving direction of the drawer assembly) onto the firstdrawer part 11 with higher accuracy.

Moreover, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown inFIGS. 7-9 (d), an insertion slot D is formed in the upper surface of theoutcut 110 and adjacent to a rear edge of the upper surface of theoutcut. The insertion slot D is adjacent to a rear side of the outcutand depressed in the upper surface of the outcut 110. Correspondingly,an insertion tongue d is extended downwardly from the lower surface ofthe second drawer part 12. The insertion tongue d may be inserted intothe insertion slot D so as to fasten the second drawer part 12 to thefirst drawer part 11, and the top of the second drawer part 12 is flushwith that of the first drawer part 11. Alternatively, the insertiontongue d is extended downwardly in the substantially vertical directionfrom the lower surface of the second drawer part 12, correspondingly,the insertion slot D is depressed downwardly in the substantiallyvertical direction into the super surface of the outcut 110. It will beappreciated by those skilled in the art that the present disclosure isnot limited to this. For example, a predetermined angle may be formedbetween the vertical direction and the axial direction of the insertionslot D and the insertion tongue d, as long as the insertion slot D andthe insertion tongue d may be coupled to each other so as to snap-fitthe second drawer part 12 within the outcut 110.

In an example of the present disclosure, the upper surface of the outcut110 is formed as an arc surface such as a fan-shape surface.Correspondingly, the lower surface of the second drawer part 12 isformed as an arc surface adapted to the upper surface of the outcut 110.Of course, the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example,the upper surface of the outcut 110 may also be a smooth curved surfacewith other shapes, two planes intersected with each other, and twosurfaces with any other shapes, as long as the second drawer part 12 maybe snap-fitted within the outcut 110 and the top of the second drawerpart 12 is flush with that of the first drawer part 11.

In an example of the present disclosure, the number of the insertiontongue d may be more than one, and the plurality of the insertiontongues d are disposed onto the upper surface of the outcut 110 andspaced apart from each other longitudinally. And the number of theinsertion slot D may correspondingly be more than one, so that theengagement between the first drawer part 11 and second drawer part 12 isfirm and the distortion of the drawer assembly is avoided.

By providing the insertion tongue d on the first drawer part and theinsertion slot D in the second drawer part which are engaged with eachother, the deflecting occurred between the first and second drawer partsand caused by deformation of drawer assembly due to pressing the drawerassembly can be corrected, so as to ensure the completeness of thedrawer assembly.

The refrigerator according to embodiments of the present disclosure willbe described in detail with reference to FIGS. 10-20 below.

A refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present disclosurecomprises a refrigerating chamber and a freezing chamber, in which thefreezing chamber comprises the drawer assembly 1 as describedhereinabove, a freezing cabinet 2 and a freezing door 3 configured toopen and close the freezing cabinet 2. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, acompressor cabin 5 is formed in a rear side of the lowest part of amulti-door refrigerator, used to accommodate a compressor and occupies alot of space. The rear wall of the compressor cabin 5 is inclinedbackwardly from the bottom up, therefore the space utilization rate ofthe freezing drawer at the bottom of the refrigerator is low.Hereinafter, as an example of drawer assembly, the freezing drawer inthe bottom of the freezing cabinet 2 of the refrigerator will bedescribed in detail.

As shown in FIGS. 10-20, the freezing door 3 is connected to thefreezing cabinet 2 via a supporting and moving assembly 4, and thedrawer assembly 1 is detachably supported on the supporting and movingassembly 4 and moved in the freezing cabinet 1 along the transversaldirection.

The supporting and moving assembly comprises a moving member 41 and adoor-support member 42. As shown in FIGS. 12-20, the moving member 41includes a slide rail 411 extended transversally and a gear 412 movableon the slide rail 411, a toothed bar 413 is disposed on the slide rail411 and meshed with the gear 412, and the gear 412 has a synchronizingbar 414 coaxial with the gear 412. Because the slide rail 411 is mountedonto the front surface of the compressor cabin and extended forwardly,the longest stroke “L” of the gear 412 is equal to a distance betweenthe front surface of the compressor cabin and the front surface of therefrigerator, which is a determined value.

One end of the door-support member 42 is fixed to the freezing door 3,and the first drawer part 11 is mounted onto the door-support member 42.The other end of the door-support member 42 is hinged to thesynchronizing bar 414 so as to move transversally on the slide rail 411together with the synchronizing bar 414 or rotate around thesynchronizing bar 414. When the gear 412 and the synchronizing bar 414move forwardly to the front surface of the refrigerator, i.e. by thelongest stroke “L” of the gear 412, the first drawer part 11 is rotatedin the anticlockwise direction as rotation of the door-support member 42with respect to the synchronizing bar 414, and then taken out from thedoor-support member 42.

The rear walls of the first drawer part 11 and the second drawer part 12are inclined backwardly respectively, for example, parallel to the frontsurface of the compressor cabin 5. Therefore, in the case that thedistance between the compressor cabin 5 and the freezing door 3 isdetermined, the capacity of the drawer formed by coupling the firstdrawer part 11 and the second drawer part 12 is much larger, and theinner space of the freezing cabinet 2 is sufficiently utilized, that is,the space utilization rate of the refrigerator is improved.

The operation, assembly and disassembly of the drawer assembly 1 of therefrigerator according to embodiments of the present disclosure willdescribed in detail with reference to FIGS. 12-14 below, in which thedrawer assembly 1 is the one described in an embodiment with referenceto FIGS. 1-3( c).

Firstly, the procedure of disassembly of the drawer assembly 1 isdescribed as follows:

When opening the freezing door 3, the gear 412 moves forwardly along thetoothed bar 413 on the slide rail 411, until to the front end of theslide rail 411 adjacent to the front surface of the freezing cabinet 2,that is, the longest stroke of the gear 412 is reached. At this time,the freezing door 3 stops moving forwardly. Then, the user lifts theleft end and the right end of the second drawer part 12, the elasticfastening tongue a of the second drawer part 12 is firstly disengagedfrom the groove A of the first drawer part 11 via elastic deformation,and the second recess b of the second drawer part 12 is disengaged fromthe projection B of the first drawer part 11 along the direction denotedby the vertical arrow shown in FIGS. 12 and 13. After the second drawerpart 12 is separated from the first drawer part 11 completely, the usercan take out the second drawer part 12 directly.

The manner of taking out the first drawer part 11 will be described. Theuser grips the left and right sides of the first drawer part 11, rotatesthe first drawer part 11 in the anticlockwise direction around thesynchronizing bar 414, until the first drawer part 11 touches a door 30above the freezing door 3. Next, the first drawer part 11 is moved to aappropriate position along the direction denoted by forwardly inclinedarrow shown in FIG. 14, then rotated to a position at which the firstdrawer part 11 is parallel to the freezing door 3, and then the firstdrawer part 11 could be detached along the direction denoted by thevertical arrow shown in FIG. 14.

Secondly, the procedure of assembly of the drawer assembly 1 will bedescribed as follows:

The procedure of assembly of the drawer assembly 1 may be reversed tothat of disassembly thereof, and detailed description thereof will beomitted here. The second drawer part 12 may be mounted after the firstdrawer part 11 has been mounted in place. The second drawer part 12 isfirstly placed at the appropriate position similarly as shown in FIGS.12 and 13, the second step c of the second drawer part 12 falls onto thefirst step C of the first drawer part 11, and the second recess b of thesecond drawer part 12 covers the projection B of the first drawer part11 vertically. Meanwhile, the elastic fastening tongue a of the seconddrawer part 12 is contacted to the groove A of the first drawer part 11.Then the elastic fastening tongue a is inserted into the groove Athrough exerting a force to the fastening tongue a by a user using histhumb. Meanwhile, the other coupling structures between the first drawerpart 11 and the second drawer part 12 are coupled to each other.Therefore, the assembly of the drawer assembly 1 is finished.

The operation, assembly and disassembly of the drawer assembly 1 of therefrigerator according to another embodiment of the present disclosurewill described in detail with reference to FIGS. 15-17 below, in whichthe drawer assembly 1 is the one described in an embodiment withreference to FIGS. 4-6 (c).

Firstly, the procedure of disassembly of the drawer assembly 1 isdescribed as follows:

When opening the freezing door 3, the gear 412 moves forwardly along thetoothed bar 413 on the slide rail 411, until to the front end of theslide rail 411 adjacent to the front surface of the freezing cabinet 2,that is, the longest stroke of the gear 412 is reached. At this time,the freezing door 3 stops moving forwardly. Then, the user pushes theleft side and the right side towards the interior of the freezingcabinet 2 along the direction denoted by the transversal arrow shown inFIG. 15 and FIG. 6( c), the plughole a′ of the second drawer part 12 isdisengaged from the second protrusion A′ of the first drawer part 11 viaelastic deformation. Meanwhile, the second recess b of the second drawerpart 12 is disengaged from the projection B of the first drawer part 11along the direction denoted by the vertical arrow shown in FIG. 15 andFIG. 16. After the second drawer part 12 is separated from the firstdrawer part 11 completely, the user can take out the second drawer part12 directly.

The manner of taking out the first drawer part 11 will be described. Theuser grips the left and right sides of the first drawer part 11, rotatesthe first drawer part 11 in the anticlockwise direction around thesynchronizing bar 414, until the first drawer part 11 touches the door30 above the freezing door 3. Next, the first drawer part 11 is moved toa appropriate position along the direction denoted by forwardly inclinedarrow shown in FIG. 17, then rotated to a position at which the firstdrawer part 11 is parallel to the freezing door 3, and then the firstdrawer part 11 could be detached along the direction denoted by thevertical arrow as shown in FIG. 17.

Secondly, the procedure of assembly of the drawer assembly 1 will bedescribed as follows:

The procedure of assembly of the drawer assembly 1 may be reversed tothat of disassembly thereof, and detailed description thereof will beomitted here. The second drawer part 12 may be mounted after the firstdrawer part 11 has been mounted in place. The second drawer part 12 isfirstly placed at the appropriate position similarly as shown in FIGS.15 and 16, and the second step c of the second drawer part 12 falls ontothe first step C of the first drawer part 11, and the second recess b ofthe second drawer part 12 covers the projection B of the first drawerpart 11 vertically. Meanwhile, the plughole a′ of the second drawer part12 is contacted to the second protrusion A′ of the first drawer part 11.And then the plughole a′ is inserted into the second protrusion A′through exerting a force to the second protrusion A′ by a user using histhumb. Meanwhile the other coupling structures between the first drawerpart 11 and the second drawer part 12 are coupled to each other.Therefore, the assembly of the drawer assembly 1 is finished.

The operation, assembly and disassembly of the drawer assembly 1 of therefrigerator according to a still another embodiment of the presentdisclosure will described in detail with reference to FIGS. 18-20 below,in which the drawer assembly 1 is the one described in an embodimentwith reference to FIGS. 7-9( d).

Firstly, the procedure of disassembly of the drawer assembly 1 isdescribed as follows:

When opening the freezing door 3, the gear 412 moves forwardly along thetoothed bar 413 on the slide rail 411, until to the front end of theslide rail 411 adjacent to the front surface of the freezing cabinet 2,that is, the longest stroke of the gear 412 is reached. At this time,the freezing door 3 stops moving forwardly. Then, the user lifts theleft end and the right end of the second drawer part 12, the elasticfastening tongue a of the second drawer part 12 is disengaged from thegroove A of the first drawer part 11 via elastic deformation, and thesecond recess b of the second drawer part 12 is disengaged from theprojection B of the first drawer part 11 along the direction denoted bythe vertical arrow shown in FIG. 18 and FIG. 19. Meanwhile, the secondstep c of the second drawer part 12 is disengaged from the first step Cof the first drawer part 11 automatically, and the insertion tongue d ofthe second drawer part 12 is disengaged from the insertion slot D of thefirst drawer part 11 automatically. After the second drawer part 12 isseparated from the first drawer part 11 completely, the second drawerpart 12 could be detached directly.

The manner of taking out the first drawer part 11 will be described. Theuser grips the left and right sides of the first drawer part 11, rotatesthe first drawer part 11 in the anticlockwise direction around thesynchronizing bar 414, until the first drawer part 11 is contacted withthe door 30 above the freezing door 3. Next, the first drawer part 11 ismoved to a appropriate position along the direction denoted by theforwardly inclined arrow shown in FIG. 20, and then rotated to aposition at which the first drawer part 11 is parallel to the freezingdoor 3, and then the first drawer part 11 could be detached along thedirection denoted by the vertical arrow shown in FIG. 20.

Secondly, the procedure of assembly of the drawer assembly 1 will bedescribed as follows:

The procedure of assembly of the drawer assembly 1 may be reversed tothat of disassembly thereof, and detailed description thereof will beomitted here. The second drawer part 12 may be mounted after the firstdrawer part 11 has been mounted in place. The second drawer part 12 isfirstly placed at the appropriate position similarly as shown in FIGS.18 and 19, the second step c of the second drawer part 12 falls onto thefirst step C of the first drawer part 11, the second recess b of thesecond drawer part 12 covers the projection B of the first drawer part11 vertically, and the insertion tongue d of the second drawer part 12is inserted into the insertion slot D of the first drawer part 11.Meanwhile, the elastic fastening tongue a of the second drawer part 12is contacted to the groove A of the first drawer part 11. Then theelastic fastening tongue a is inserted into the groove A throughexerting a force to the fastening tongue a by a user using his thumb.the other coupling structures between the first drawer part 11 and thesecond drawer part 12 are coupled to each other. Therefore, the assemblyof the drawer assembly 1 is finished.

Since the drawer assembly according to embodiments of the presentdisclosure is divided into the first drawer part 11 and the seconddrawer part 12 detachably coupled to each other, when being insertedinto drawer cabinets with various capacity requirements, the rear wallof each of the first drawer part 11 and the second drawer part 12 may beinclined by a predetermined angle backwardly and correspondinglyaccording to the specific capacity requirement, therefore the capacityof the drawer assembly can satisfy the requirements of the drawercabinet. Meanwhile, when the drawer assembly is needed to be taken outof the drawer cabinet, the second drawer part 12 may be firstly detachedfrom the first drawer part 11, and then the first drawer part 11 ispulled out. Therefore, the capacity of the drawer assembly is relativelyenlarged, the space utilization rate thereof is improved, the waste ofthe space of drawer is reduced, and the taking out and cleaning of thedrawer assembly is convenient, though the drawer assembly is needed tobe taken out in two steps.

Reference throughout this specification to an “embodiment,” “someembodiments,” “one embodiment”, “an example,” “a specific examples,” or“some examples,” means that a particular feature, structure, material,or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or exampleis included in at least one embodiment or example of the disclosure.Thus, the appearances of the phrases such as “in some embodiments,” “inone embodiment” “in an embodiment”, “an example,” “a specific examples,”or “some examples,” in various places throughout this specification arenot necessarily referring to the same embodiment or example of thedisclosure. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials,or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or moreembodiments or examples.

Although explanatory embodiments have been shown and described, it wouldbe appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes, alternatives,and modifications can be made in the embodiments without departing fromspirit and principles of the disclosure. Such changes, alternatives, andmodifications all fall into the scope of the claims and theirequivalents.

1. A drawer assembly, comprising: a first drawer part having an outcutwhich is formed in a top of the first drawer part at a transversal rearside of the first drawer part and penetrated therethrough in alongitudinal direction; and a second drawer part snap-fitted within theoutcut of the first drawer part so as to couple the second drawer partto the first drawer part, and the top of the first drawer part beingflush with that of the second drawer part.
 2. The drawer assemblyaccording to claim 1, wherein a first protrusion extended backwardly ina transversal direction is disposed at an upper portion of a rearsurface of transversal sidewall of the first drawer part, and a grooveis formed in a top of the first protrusion; wherein a first recess isformed in an upper portion of a front surface of a transversal sidewallof the second drawer part, and a fastening tongue extended downwardly isdisposed at a top surface of the first recess; and wherein the firstprotrusion is fitted within the first recess and the fastening tongue issnap-fitted within the groove such that the second drawer part isfastened to the first drawer part.
 3. The drawer assembly according toclaim 2, wherein the groove is formed as a through-hole extendedvertically, and the fastening tongue is elastic.
 4. The drawer assemblyaccording to claim 1, wherein a second protrusion extended backwardly ina transversal direction is disposed at a top of a rear surface of atransversal sidewall of the first drawer part; wherein a plughole isformed in a front surface of a transversal sidewall of the second drawerpart; and wherein the second protrusion is inserted into the plugholesuch that the second drawer part is fastened to the first drawer part.5. The drawer assembly according to claim 2, wherein a projectionextended upwardly is disposed on an upper surface of the outcut of thefirst drawer part, and a second recess recessed upwardly is formed in alower surface of the second drawer part, and wherein the projection isinserted into the second recess so as to fasten the second drawer partto the first drawer part.
 6. The drawer assembly according to claim 5,wherein the projection is extended upwardly along a substantiallyvertical direction from the upper surface of the outcut.
 7. The drawerassembly according to claim 5, wherein a first step is disposed on anouter surface of a rear wall in the transversal direction of the firstdrawer part, wherein a second step is disposed on an outer surface of arear wall in the transversal direction of the second drawer part, andwherein the first step is snap-fitted with the second step.
 8. Thedrawer assembly according to claim 7, wherein the first step has asubstantially “L” shape.
 9. The drawer assembly according to claim 7,wherein an insertion slot is formed in the upper surface of the outcutand adjacent to a rear edge of the upper surface of the outcut; whereinan insertion tongue is extended downwardly from a lower surface of thesecond drawer part, and wherein the insertion tongue is inserted intothe insertion slot so as to fasten the second drawer part to the firstdrawer part.
 10. The drawer assembly according to claim 9, wherein theinsertion tongue is extended downwardly along a substantially verticaldirection from the lower surface of the second drawer part.
 11. Thedrawer assembly according to claim 10, wherein the upper surface of theoutcut is formed as an arc surface; and wherein the lower surface of thesecond drawer part is formed as an arc surface adapted to the uppersurface of the outcut.
 12. A refrigerator comprising a refrigeratingchamber and a freezing chamber, wherein the freezing chamber comprising:a freezing cabinet; a freezing door configured to open and close thefreezing cabinet and connected to the freezing cabinet via a supportingand moving assembly; and a drawer assembly detachably supported on thesupporting and moving assembly and moved in the freezing cabinet alongthe transversal direction, the drawer assembly comprising: a firstdrawer part having an outcut which is formed in a top of the firstdrawer part at a transversal rear side of the first drawer part andpenetrated therethrough in a longitudinal direction; and a second drawerpart snap-fitted within the outcut of the first drawer part so as tocouple the second drawer part to the first drawer part, and the top ofthe first drawer part being flush with that of the second drawer part.13. The refrigerator according to claim 12, wherein the supporting andmoving assembly comprising: a moving member including a slide railextending transversally and a gear movable on the slide rail, a toothedbar being disposed on the slide rail and meshed with the gear, the gearhaving a synchronizing bar coaxial with the gear; and a door-supportmember, an end of which being fixed to the freezing door, and the firstdrawer part being mounted onto the door-support member, and the otherend of which being hinged to the synchronizing bar so as to be movabletransversally on the slide rail together with the synchronizing bar orrotatable around the synchronizing bar.
 14. The refrigerator accordingto claim 12, wherein a first protrusion extended backwardly in atransversal direction is disposed at an upper portion of a rear surfaceof transversal sidewall of the first drawer part, and a groove is formedin a top of the first protrusion; wherein a first recess is formed in anupper portion of a front surface of a transversal sidewall of the seconddrawer part, and a fastening tongue extended downwardly is disposed at atop surface of the first recess; and wherein the first protrusion isfitted within the first recess and the fastening tongue is snap-fittedwithin the groove such that the second drawer part is fastened to thefirst drawer part.
 15. The refrigerator according to claim 14, whereinthe groove is formed as a through-hole extended vertically, and thefastening tongue is elastic.
 16. The refrigerator according to claim 12,wherein a second protrusion extended backwardly in a transversaldirection is disposed at a top of a rear surface of a transversalsidewall of the first drawer part; wherein a plughole is formed in afront surface of a transversal sidewall of the second drawer part; andwherein the second protrusion is inserted into the plughole such thatthe second drawer part is fastened to the first drawer part.
 17. Therefrigerator according to claim 14, wherein a projection extendedupwardly is disposed on an upper surface of the outcut of the firstdrawer part, and a second recess recessed upwardly is formed in a lowersurface of the second drawer part, and wherein the projection isinserted into the second recess so as to fasten the second drawer partto the first drawer part.
 18. The refrigerator according to claim 17,wherein the projection is extended upwardly along a substantiallyvertical direction from the upper surface of the outcut.
 19. Therefrigerator according to claim 17, wherein a first step is disposed onan outer surface of a rear wall of the first drawer part, wherein asecond step is disposed on an outer surface of a rear wall of the seconddrawer part, and wherein the first step is snap-fitted with the secondstep.
 20. The refrigerator according to claim 19, wherein an insertionslot is formed in the upper surface of the outcut and adjacent to a rearedge of the upper surface of the outcut; wherein an insertion tongue isextended downwardly from a lower surface of the second drawer part, andwherein the insertion tongue is inserted into the insertion slot so asto fasten the second drawer part to the first drawer part.